RO Program Analysis Activity

4151 -RO Program Analysis Activity (Rev. 1, 05-21-04) Program analysis may be focused in the following areas: 4151A - Analysis of Administrative Factors (Rev. 1, 05-21-04) Analyze administrative data. This data includes (but is not limited to): ● Level of expenditures; ● Number of surveyors; ● Surveyor turnover rates; ● Number of providers; ● Time and effort statistics; and ● OSCAR reports. The manipulation of this data may lead to the identification of the causes of performance problems, or help explain differences in survey-related costs. 4151B - Analysis of SA Reviews (Rev. 1, 05-21-04) The major focus of analysis of SA evaluations concerns areas where a State shows persistent substandard performance. This may not be evident through periodic reviews, since the reviews do not encompass the same functions. A focus on the results of each area may impact other areas. For example, a high surveyor turnover rate will be evident in financial data (increased training costs) and in 670 data (increased survey completion time). The important element is that several areas of data can be used to demonstrate and support a request for SA corrective action. SA reviews should also be studied to each other (State-to-State) to determine common areas of success as well as difficulty. These areas should be clearly delineated since difficulties common to most States represent areas where major programmatic efforts should be made to improve program processes. 4151C - Analysis of Individual Special Programs (Rev. 1, 05-21-04) The special program or innovation must be directly evaluated. The approach must be one that studies interrelationships among the agency’s components. The analysis should determine what work the agency produces, how well and quickly it’s produced, and its cost. These considerations must also be studied to determine effects in each area. For example, a program aimed at cost-reduction through a decrease in survey team size may show a trend toward the citing of fewer deficiencies. The results of any analysis should be discussed with the SA with the common goal of improving the quality of survey and certification activities.